1/2 marathon

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Jellygrl
Jellygrl Posts: 112 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I can not believe that the competitive side of me, challenged my boss and said that I would take part in a 1/2 marathon in July 2015 when he put it to me. Any advice or help. Please note that I am trying to lose weight at the same time.
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Replies

  • throoper
    throoper Posts: 351 Member
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    Follow a beginner's training plan (eg Hal Higdon) religiously, and you'll be fine! Congrats, it'll be awesome!
  • hermann341
    hermann341 Posts: 443 Member
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    There is enough time to do this. If you haven't been very active start with a C25K program. Finish that with a 5k event. Then train for a 10k event. Then start training for your half.
  • MsMojo_13
    MsMojo_13 Posts: 8 Member
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    Hal Higdon is the way to go. I ran my first 1/2 following his novice plan. He provides advice on walking/running which is the Jeff Galloway method and similar to the C25K plan suggested above.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
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    You've got plenty of time to train. The above posters have great advice for training programs.

    You should be able to lose weight during your training if you continue to stick to a calorie deficit. Do you plan to eat back your exercise calories? May I suggest too that you incorporate some strength training. I've just finished a half marathon and although I lost 45 lbs during my training, I didn't have time for strength training and I lost a lot of muscle too.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    throoper wrote: »
    Follow a beginner's training plan (eg Hal Higdon) religiously, and you'll be fine! Congrats, it'll be awesome!


    Yup. Plenty of time to train. The Hal Higdon plans are excellent.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    throoper wrote: »
    Follow a beginner's training plan (eg Hal Higdon) religiously, and you'll be fine! Congrats, it'll be awesome!

    Agreed.

    You've got a ton of time... you'll be just fine.
  • check1972
    check1972 Posts: 26 Member
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    You have have plenty of time, as others have said. I will add... start NOW.

    I plan to run my first half next spring/summer, too. Good luck! You can do this.
  • gabbo34
    gabbo34 Posts: 289 Member
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    You'll be fine...no problem at all.

    I started with a C2K5 program in August. I literally couldn't run 5 minutes without thinking my lungs with explode.

    Did my first 5k in September, decided I wanted to do a 10k in November and am training for a half in April. The training plans listed below are excellent. I was surprised at how easy it was to go from 3-4 miles to 5-6 miles to 8-9 miles.

    With more than 6 months to go, you'll definitely be ready.
  • Jellygrl
    Jellygrl Posts: 112 Member
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    Thank you all for your advice. :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    hermann341 wrote: »
    There is enough time to do this. If you haven't been very active start with a C25K program. Finish that with a 5k event. Then train for a 10k event. Then start training for your half.

    This!
  • newhealthykim
    newhealthykim Posts: 192 Member
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    You can do this. I second the recommendation to start with C25K. I started running in July and finished the program 14 weeks and 4 days later. I'm now training for a 10K. My half marathon will be December 2015. Get fitted and buy running shoes as early as possible. Don't think about the big goal. Just think about finishing one training program at a time. You will need a year of running most likely to build up your base before you take on the final half marathon training.
  • newhealthykim
    newhealthykim Posts: 192 Member
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    Also, keep your protein up. I shoot for 90g a day (218 lbs).
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    A good rule about running is to never talk crap about racing, so now you have to back it up. Get fitted for shoes, get a training plan (C25K, www.halhigdon.com) and put in the miles so you don't look like a dope. Good luck :)
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    plenty of time. most half marathon training plans are about 12 weeks long. just count back from the day of the race, and mark on your calendar when you need to start officially training.

    i don't know what kind of running experience you have now, but you'll need to be at about a 3 mile base for most beginner programs, so in the mean time, work to that.
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
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    If you are a complete newbie to running I would suggest doing C25K then maintain at that level or just beyond, then follow a 12 week halfie training programme. You have plenty of time. Good luck. I ran 2 halfies this year and really enjoyed them!
  • EmmieBaby
    EmmieBaby Posts: 1,235 Member
    edited November 2014
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    throoper wrote: »
    Follow a beginner's training plan (eg Hal Higdon) religiously, and you'll be fine! Congrats, it'll be awesome!
    ^^---ding, if you have never run before, I would suggest C25K before =)

  • avecheverria
    avecheverria Posts: 7 Member
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    I have found that it is really important to eat enough protein and fat to help combat the run hunger. When I was training for my first marathon, I GAINED weight because I was always hungry and reaching for carbs. I now weigh ~150 and eat 150g of protein a day. I just ran another half last Saturday and I added some rice to my diet for the week leading up to the race and I have never felt better during a race.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Running was key to me losing weight so this is a win win for you. My first race was a half marathon and I thought it was fun but I was putting in about 25 miles a week at the time. My second half will be on the 22nd of this month.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I just ran my first half in October--I finished in under 2 hours. Try to run 16-20 miles per week consistently over the winter just to keep in shape. As long as you start piling on the mileage in earnest ~12 weeks prior to your race, you should be fine. I ran ~5 miles a day 4 days a week, rested 2 days (not necessarily in a row unless weather/life dictated it), and did my long runs on Sunday. I started with 6 as my long run and added a mile every week until I was doing the entire 13+. Once you get up to ~60 minutes of running, start experimenting with fuel/water/sports drink during your training runs so you know what you need/can handle during the race. I ran the entire distance twice up to 3 weeks prior to the race and then started tapering (as per Runner's World recommendations). Know what your race course will look like--if it's hilly, make sure to train on hills.

    Also, I ran my race while still on a signficiant cut. I would not suggest doing that--eat more during the month leading up to the race, and try to get a decent amount of carbs in the week before the race (not just the night before).

    Good luck! You can do it!
  • leiann2003
    leiann2003 Posts: 16 Member
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    I used the Hal Higdon Novice 2 1/2 marathon program. It requires you to run 3 days during the week and then has you do a long run on Saturday/ Sunday. I didn't end up doing the 1/2 because of an injury, but I really liked to program.

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